Best Technological Breakthrough
in association with Tesco
WINNER Xeros – The Virtually Waterless Cleaning System
Yorkshire Company Xeros has developed a new way to clean clothes using hardly any water – a “game-changing” technology. Their prototype washing machine uses polymer beads which absorb dirt into their molecular structure and work for hundreds of washes. It requires 90% less water than conventional machines, and saves energy because there is less water to heat and the clothes are easier to dry. Independent analysis confirmed that it cleans as well as normal washers, and environmental consultancy URS found its carbon footprint to be 20% lower. The company has raised £5 million to put a machine for the commercial laundry industry on to the market in 2011, with a domestic machine planned for 2013. http://tinyurl.com/64r7ogw
Grimshaw and Wind Power Ltd – Aerogenerator X
Towering 100m into the sky with a wingspan the length of three football pitches, Aerogenerator X will mimic the movement of a falling sycamore seed to generate vast amounts of power far out at sea. Turning on a vertical axis with its engine room at sea level, this dramatic and beautiful British design is cheaper, more stable, easier to service and less prone to metal fatigue than conventional windmill-shaped turbines. It can also be deployed by floating it into position. It will generate 10MW of power (more than double that of existing wind turbines) and the design was unveiled in July 2010 after 18 months of work costing £4 million. http://www.windpower.ltd.uk/
Fiat – eco:Drive
Fiat is helping its drivers cut CO2 emissions with eco:Drive. Downloaded for free from Fiat’s website, eco:Drive helps reduce fuel consumption by up to 15%, by monitoring a person’s driving technique and giving tailored advice on how to improve it. Driving data is collected on a memory stick which the driver plugs into the USB port on a Fiat car’s dashboard, later transferring this information to their computer. Over 53,000 motorists have signed up and four million journeys have been analysed. Simple advice on when to change gear, accelerate and control speed is estimated by Fiat to have saved 3,700 tonnes of CO2. http://tinyurl.com/692djs7/
Zenex Technologies – GasSaver
GasSaver has the potential to hugely reduce energy use in the UK by using waste heat from domestic boilers. The British-developed technology recovers heat from a gas-fired boiler’s waste flue, and puts it back into the heating system. This technology, or varients of it, are now used by seven leading boiler brands and have been installed in 10,000 homes. GasSaver estimates potential savings of up to 37% of the energy required for a typical household’s hot water. A GasSaver can be fitted to most A-rated condensing boilers (of which 4,000 are fitted in the UK every day) as well as commercial heating and water systems. http://tinyurl.com/69tr445
